Edwina Harris holds a photocopy of a loan check for $28,700 signed over to… (Adrin Snider, Daily Press )

January 16, 2012|By Joe Lawlor, jlawlor@dailypress.com | 757-247-7874

NEWPORT NEWS — — Edwina and Wendell Harris owe about $28,000 on a loan for a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro they never received or even saw. They wonder if the luxury car they purchased even exists.

In September 2010, the couple bought — sight unseen — the black Camaro from Showcase Select Imports, a former luxury car dealership in the Southeast Community.

"They told us that they didn't have one on the lot, but they could get one no problem at an auction," said Edwina Harris, 24. "We never actually saw the car."

So the $545 per month that they owe Navy Federal Credit Union is a real car payment on what may be an imaginary Camaro.

Nearly a year after Showcase Select Imports closed, the repercussions from the dealer's troubles are still playing out. The vehicles from the lot were abruptly seized and towed off the lot in February 2011 by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

'Buying a dream'

While no charges have been filed against former Showcase owner Virgil Williams Jr., state officials confirm that a federal investigation is ongoing. The U.S. Attorney's Office and Federal Bureau of Investigation are involved, according to the DMV.

Melanie Stokes, a spokeswoman for Virginia DMV, has said Williams is fully cooperating with authorities. She said last week that she doesn't know when the investigation will be complete.

An estimated 60 victims have come forward, mostly people who were sold cars but never given titles, according to the DMV. One victim described bringing his luxury car in for servicing only to never see it again.

"The DMV is going to do everything we can to help people wronged by this dealership," said Stokes, explaining that new titles were issued to customers who had never received a title from Showcase Select. Without a title, car owners couldn't legally get license plates to drive their vehicles once 30-day temporary tags expired.

But there were a few cases where no vehicle was ever delivered, and those situations are harder to solve, Stokes said.

"Some people were buying a dream," Stokes said.

Financial dilemma

The victims could recover some money once the criminal case is over, and the dealership's assets would presumably be distributed to victims, Stokes said. But that could take awhile, as charges have not yet been issued.

And there's always the option of trying to get money back by suing Showcase Select Imports or Williams.

Meanwhile, Edwina and Wendell Harris stopped paying on their $28,000 loan last summer, after it became clear that it would be awhile before they would recover any money. She said it seemed to be counterproductive to pay on a loan for a car they didn't have.

Harris said they appealed for help from the loan holder, Navy Federal, but were rebuffed. The credit union threatened to garnish their wages, she said.

"You would think that they would have wanted to help us," Edwina Harris said. Her husband, a U.S. Navy sailor, is currently deployed. "I thought their motto was 'We serve where you serve.'"

Harris said they want the loan to be frozen until the criminal case is resolved. She said she's concerned that their credit rating will be damaged if that doesn't happen.

Jennifer Sadler, a spokeswoman for Navy Federal Credit Union, said that unscrupulous car dealers too often prey on military buyers. So the credit union focuses on prevention, she said.

"We really do our best to educate our members," Sadler said. "We caution our members to watch out with whom they do business with."

Sadler said while there's not much Navy Federal can do after the fact, the credit union does work with its members on lowering the monthly payment if there's a financial burden, Sadler said.

'Great news'

Harris said when they purchased the Camaro in September 2010, the dealership assured them that the sports car would be in their hands in a few weeks. So they handed over the loan check for $28,000, plus an additional $2,000 for the $30,000 vehicle. Harris said hindsight being 20-20, if they had to do it again, they wouldn't hand over a check without the car on the lot.

After waiting for two weeks and still not seeing a Camaro, Harris said her husband became impatient and took out another loan to purchase another Camaro from a different dealership. Shortly after they bought the second Camaro, Showcase Select called.

Only, Showcase didn't have their Camaro on the lot. It was supposedly "in transit."

But she said the car as described by Showcase didn't have the same features that they agreed to. Also, since they had already purchased the other Camaro, they tried to back out of the deal with Showcase.

Harris said Showcase Select wasn't willing to return their money until the dealership re-sold the Camaro that was "in transit."